NEW ORLEANS – The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, has named eight quarterbacks as its “Stars of the Week.” College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. When voting closes on Thursday at 9 a.m. (Central), the top vote-getter will be announced as the Manning Award Player of the Week.

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in 2004 to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.

James Franklin, Missouri
(20-of-28, 289 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT)
Franklin, who also rushes for 84 yards and two touchdowns, leads the Tigers to a 52-17 victory over Iowa State.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
(14-of-27, 203 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT)
Harnish also rushes for a career-high 229 yards on 14 carries (four runs for 29 yards or more) in just three quarters of play to become the 11th player to record a 200/200 game as the Huskies roll to a 51-22 win over Western Michigan.

Collin Klein, Kansas State
(12-of-18, 146 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)
Klein also rushes for 110 yards and three touchdowns as he leads his team to a comeback victory over Texas Tech, keeping the Wildcats remain undefeated.

J.J. McDermott, SMU
(20-of-31, 358 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
McDermott remains undefeated as the Mustangs’ starter, leading SMU to its fifth straight victory by throwing for 356 yards and two scores against the last remaining FBS defense that had not given up a passing TD this year.

Kellen Moore, Boise State
(26-of-31, 349 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT)
Moore has yet another outstanding game, piling up big numbers in two and a half quarters of action as he leads the Broncos to a thorough 63-13 beating of Colorado State in their Mountain West Conference debut.

Aaron Murray, Georgia
(22-of-38, 326 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Murray throws for a career-high 326 yards and three TDs, including a career-best 75-yarder in the fourth quarter which proves to be the game-winner, as the Bulldogs hold off Vanderbilt, 33-28, for their fifth straight victory.

Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
(25-of-37, 415 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT)
Tannehill, who also rushes for 55 yards, holds off a third-quarter Baylor rally, registers his career-high with six touchdown passes, including a pair of 64-yard connections, as the Aggies roll over No. 20 Baylor.

Last week’s Manning Award Player of the Week was Austin Davis from Southern Miss. A native of Meridian, Miss., Davis set the Southern Miss record for completion percentage (91.3) by connecting on 21-of-23 passes for 283 yards in a 63-35 victory over Navy. He led touchdown drives on nine of 13 attempts and also ran for 75 yards and a touchdown. Davis' first drive of the game came with the Golden Eagles pinned inside their own one-yard line. Davis stepped up to direct a 99-yard drive to boost the lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter, putting the run-oriented Midshipmen on their heels for the rest of the game. The win improved the Golden Eagles to 5-1, while the 63 points also marked the highest point total for Southern Miss on the road since 1987.

The Manning Award will be recognizing its eighth winner this year. USC’s Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, followed by Texas’ Vince Young in 2006. Both went on to be top 10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell earned the award and was the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick. Boston College’s Matt Ryan claimed the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. In 2009, Florida star Tim Tebow earned the honor – he also went on to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. The 2010 winner was Texas signal-caller Colt McCoy, the winningest quarterback in college football history, who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the draft. Last year saw Auburn’s Cameron Newton earn the award, prior to being selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers.